Pulling on the Lesh

I was trying to decide what to post about this week until I took my kids to the park. There was a women there who had a huge lab that she was attempting to take for a walk. Not really sure who was leading who on their walk.

So, Do you have a dog that pulls you instead of walking with you? Never fear - there is hope!! My Shepherd Lib and I had that issue for about a year. She was very determined to go at her pace instead of mine. There are a few great products out there that can really help, but my favorite is the gentle leader. However, if you have one of those retractable leashes - do not use it with this product, you might hurt your dog. The gentle leader is a device that fits over the dogs nose, and snaps on behind their head. It is a wonderful product that will work for most dogs. When they pull you, it turns their head around, and it teaches them not to pull. If that does not work, try this little trick. Evertime the dog pulls you, yank on the leash to get their attention, and change your direction. This was what I had to do to get Lib to heel correctly to pass the Canine Good Citzen test. She just did not want to heel with a leash on. She does it perfectly without the leash, but we had to work hard to get it with the leash. What can I say, she is a complex puppy!